Chapter 237: Arrowhead

His mount raised its hooves and shot forward, the hoofbeats behind him shifting from scattered to dense, their crisp clatter ringing through the streets and alleys.

Passing those infantrymen along the roadside, Chen Rulie clamped his legs, and his mount instantly accelerated, its gait shifting to a fast trot — the same speed he used to deliver urgent letters back when he was a relay courier.

The houses on both sides flew backward, and the horse soldiers on the official road ahead spotted the cavalry and wheeled their horses around to retreat.

This reaction matched what Chen Rulie had guessed: the mounted bandits thought this was a driving-off action and would usually pull back to lure the government cavalry away from the main battle line, after which the horse soldiers out in the open fields would converge to seal off the retreat path, and only then would the encirclement attack begin — similar to the ambush at Shucheng Mountain Pass.

Chen Rulie turned to look back; the main road was a surging mass of horse heads that blocked the view behind, so he could not tell whether those infantrymen had set out yet. With Lord Pang holding the line, the infantry would certainly follow, but Chen Rulie only worried they would not be fast enough — after all, they were wearing armor.

When he turned back around, the view on his left suddenly opened wide: Chen Rulie had already burst out of the street beyond Wanfeng Gate. Under the setting sun to the west, the fields were thick with the figures of mounted bandits, appearing black against the glare, and among them was a banner. Several hundred horse soldiers spread along the line from Silver Ingot Bridge to Wanfeng Gate, their formation stretched very wide, but their main strength remained on the side closer to Wanfeng Gate.

The bandits nearby had already noticed the commotion on the official road; they wheeled their horses, shouting loudly to alert other companions nearby, while the horse soldiers at the edge of the official road spurred their mounts away to avoid the government troops' sharp edge, some of them drawing their cavalry bows.

The horse soldiers on the official road continued their steady retreat, while the bandits farther away began closing in toward the road. Their horses bounded through those parched rice paddies, leaping over one field ridge after another. As far as the eye could see, it was all dense ranks of horse soldiers, some of them moving toward his rear, preparing to cut off his retreat. The entire bandit formation wrapped around the official road, constantly bending and shifting, ready at any moment to draw the sack completely tight.

At this moment, he was only a hundred paces from the Wanfeng Gate street, with still over two li ahead. Chen Rulie was the spearhead, and he needed to pick the most opportune moment to charge. The infantry had not yet burst out of the street, and with the cavalry screening them, the bandits had not detected any infantry movement. Because they wanted to let the Garrison Commander's cavalry get farther from Wanfeng Gate before encircling them, they had not yet launched their attack.

Without having engaged in battle, the closer they got to Fierce Tiger Bridge, the more advantageous it would be. The later the bandits discovered the Garrison Commander's intent, the less time they would have to react. What Pang Yu had instructed him was this: just before the horse soldiers were about to attack, the cavalry should begin their full-speed sprint.

Chen Rulie kept turning to look back, but his view was also blocked by the cavalry, so he could not see whether the infantry had burst out of the street. He could only gauge the infantry's position by observing the reactions of the mounted bandits to his side and rear.

The Garrison Commander's cavalry team continued advancing along the official road, and the mounted bandits were still falling back — it seemed they thought the distance was not yet enough.

Chen Rulie fixed his eyes on that banner among the bandit horde and muttered under his breath, "Let me go a little farther."

……

"Lure them farther away — don't be in a hurry to close the encirclement."

Liu Wenxiu's voice came from ahead, and Xiao Wazi stopped accordingly. The packhorse beneath him was a bit slow, especially when starting off. Unlike Wang Gaozhao before, Liu Wenxiu liked to roam all over the formation, and every time he suddenly moved, Xiao Wazi would have to chase after him for a while.

This new Long Family before him was Eight Master's adopted son, and the troops he led were mainly from the Child Army as well, so he was naturally a bigger backer. Although he had not yet reported to Wang Gaozhao, Xiao Wazi had taken the initiative to follow Liu Wenxiu to River East.

That unit of government cavalry was moving northwest along the official road, their column stretched very long, showing no sign of stopping. The horse soldiers baiting them ahead stayed just out of reach, occasionally firing a few light arrows backward to provoke those government troops.

Eight Master was very skilled at encircling and annihilating small bands of government troops — Xiao Wazi had seen it many times. The horse soldiers from the other camps present were all veterans too; for a small-scale fight like this, they could coordinate well even without orders.

If this cavalry unit kept moving forward, the other horse soldiers would cut off their retreat, and then they would attack from all directions at once. They would collapse very quickly. If they wanted to surrender, they could be taken in too — government troops could turn into roving bandits in the blink of an eye, and Eight Master liked that very much.

Because that government unit was advancing quickly, Liu Wenxiu moved forward again, drawing a little closer to the official road. The banner waved a few times, and the horse soldiers all around slowly converged, but they had not yet launched an attack from the flanks — because once they struck from the flank, those government troops might stop right at this spot, and Liu Wenxiu still wanted them to go a little farther.

Out in the open fields, the main body of horse soldiers followed the banner, advancing in the same direction as the government troops. But the fields were hardly flat, and this was an area of Jiangbei famously rich in waterways. In the great drought of the tenth year of Wanli, only the twenty li outside Wanfeng Gate in Jiangbei never ran dry. Though it was now winter, the dry rice paddies were interspersed with ponds and fish-breeding ponds, which they had to detour around, so their speed was far inferior to that on the official road. More and more horse soldiers were being left behind by the government troops.

"Something seems off," Xiao Wazi thought to himself. This government unit had not launched an attack at all so far — it did not look at all like they were trying to drive off the horse soldiers. Instead, they were charging headlong into the net. Even a fool would know there were several hundred enemies outside — who would come seeking death like this?

Xiao Wazi turned to look west; many of the comrades on that side, being far away, had not come over. Their own side's formation was like a cloak laid out sideways, but the government troops were like a long spear, stabbing through at the collar of the cloak.

He looked back toward Wanfeng Gate again — at the street entrance, a unit of infantry had appeared.

Xiao Wazi froze for an instant, then opened his mouth and shouted, "Liu Long Family, they're going for that bridge!"

Liu Wenxiu looked at Xiao Wazi, and in a single instant understood what he meant. He fiercely drew his waist saber. "Tell the west side to pull back! Sound the conch — encircle that cavalry unit!"

……

The bandits' horn signal rang out. The nearest unit of horse soldiers on the flank spurred their mounts closer and launched the first wave of attacks at the cavalry column — light arrows from cavalry bows came whistling in.

When he looked back again, the horse soldiers at the rear were stirring abnormally; they were suddenly pulling away from the official road and shouting loudly.

The infantry must have come out. Chen Rulie's heart pounded wildly. The current situation matched their predictions, but that feeling of being surrounded still made him feel hollow inside. Whether what came next would be as Lord Pang had said — only heaven knew.

Chen Rulie drew his waist saber with a sharp ring. "To hell with your granny — full speed!"

The signalman beside him blew the conch. Chen Rulie lashed his horse's rump hard, and his mount's four hooves flew. A great force dragged at him from below, giving him the sensation of leaning backward. Chen Rulie rose slightly on his feet, then crouched low again, controlling his body to keep it steady.

The horse's speed rose to its maximum sprinting pace. Normally, cavalrymen were reluctant to use their horses like this — it would exhaust the horse's stamina in no time — but at this moment, who could still care about that?

Dozens of cavalrymen galloped along the official road. The sudden change in rhythm caught those horse soldiers off guard. The horse soldiers near Wanfeng Gate spotted the infantry and abandoned their encirclement attempt, pulling away from the official road, while the horse soldiers closer to the cavalry column were still in encirclement formation. The bandits' formation began to fall into chaos.

Now Chen Rulie had only one objective left: to smash through the interception on the official road and reach Fierce Tiger Bridge before those horse soldiers out in the open fields.

The twang of bowstrings vibrating rang out in a continuous chorus. More and more arrows came flying from the left. Behind him came screams, the neighing of horses, and the sounds of tumbling and falling. Chen Rulie had no time to look back. He had a cavalry bow, but his hand was already gripping his waist saber, and he had no leisure to return fire. The entire cavalry column could only endure the enemy's attacks head-on.

Something struck him at the waist, but Chen Rulie had no time to inspect it. He kept lashing his horse, pushing the speed to its utmost, and soon left that unit of horse soldiers behind.

The distance to the bandits on the official road closed rapidly. Those horse soldiers were somewhat panicked — they were more accustomed to finishing fights with their cavalry bows, which posed the least danger. Usually, as long as they encircled the enemy and the government troops saw they were trapped, they would shrink back and try to retreat to their starting point. Then the bandits could attack from all sides, with the main focus on blocking the government troops' retreat path, and once the government troops were exhausted, they would naturally collapse.

But these opponents were charging forward in one mad rush, and at full speed. In such face-to-face close-quarters combat, life and death would be decided in a single clash. For horse soldiers who wandered everywhere just to survive, this was absolutely not a good choice.

The several dozen horse soldiers on the official road began to diverge. A few hastily spurred their horses to leap off the road, while others, with no suitable spot, could only likewise whip their horses to speed up and flee along the official road.

Chen Rulie crouched over his horse. Now he was no longer prey about to be surrounded, but a hunter giving chase. In the heat of the fierce pursuit, his tension slowly turned into excitement. The figures of the few horse soldiers ahead who had not yet accelerated grew larger and larger; they flailed at their horses in panic, while some of those blocked behind kept looking for a spot to leap down onto the field ridges.

A bandit ahead mishandled his horse — the animal refused to jump down into the flooded paddy on the left, twisting its head against the rider's control, and its speed plummeted in an instant. Chen Rulie tugged the reins slightly to the right; his horse obediently veered. Chen Rulie controlled his direction — he could not go too wide, nor too close.

He closed in at flying speed. He could even make out the terror on the bandit's face. Controlling the speed meant controlling the initiative. Just like on the training ground, Chen Rulie leaned left, extended the saber in his right hand, and tightened his grip on the hilt.

The figure flashed past in an instant. No resistance transmitted through the blade — Chen Rulie had slashed at empty air. His mount had veered a little to the right, and he had swung his right hand at a target on his left, missing by just that much.

A scream rang out from behind. Chen Rulie turned to look: the column followed behind him like a long dragon. He did not know who behind him had landed the blow, but that horse soldier tumbled off the official road, and his riderless horse, spooked, leaped into the fish-raising pond beside it.

The bandits on the left were in pursuit, loosing scattered arrows at the column. Their speed could not compare to that on the official road, and they gradually fell behind; the column pulled free of their attacks.

Turning back around, he saw another panicked horse soldier ahead. The man had originally been on the left side of the road, but now, spotting an intersection on the right, he was preparing to flee the official road from there.

Chen Rulie guided his horse slightly — this time the target was on his favored side. He leaned his body a little to the right, extending his waist saber flat in his right hand. That horse soldier still had his bow in hand; looking back and seeing the government troops closing in, he flailed his cavalry bow wildly, trying to parry.

In an instant he was behind the man. Chen Rulie reckoned the current speed difference was not enough, so he grabbed the edge of the saddle with his left hand and swung his saber fiercely at the man's back. The blade cut through the bowstring, then struck the man's back.

Chen Rulie pressed down hard on the blade with his right hand, using the speed difference to drag out as long a wound as possible. The horse soldier let out a long scream and, horse and rider together, tumbled off the official road, rolling through a dry field.

The bandits ahead scattered and fled. Their baiting had abruptly turned into a rout. The official road was now without obstruction. The cavalry column, like an arrowhead, burst out of the horse soldiers' great net and shot straight down the official road toward Fierce Tiger Bridge. Every man sprinted with all his might; the column stretched longer and longer, those with weaker horses gradually falling behind. Several hundred chaotic bandits gave chase on the official road and across the open fields, and farther behind them came massed ranks of Garrison Commander infantry.

The main body of horse soldiers had been left behind, but ahead there were still scattered bandits fleeing — they absolutely dared not stand and block a galloping cavalry column.

His speed seemed to be slowing. When Chen Rulie turned his head, he caught a glimpse of arrow feathers sticking out of his horse's rump, shaking violently with the animal's running, blood flowing from the wound.

His hesitation lasted only an instant. Chen Rulie turned back and crouched low, laid his waist saber flat, and swung his hand back to give a hard slap.

His mount once again ran with all its strength. The cold wind rushed at his face, pouring through his collar and into his neck. The horse kept snorting heavily, its body rocking violently left and right. Chen Rulie crouched low; the horse's head bobbed before his eyes, and the freshly trimmed mane on the back of its neck fluttered in the wind.

On the official road, hoofbeats fell dense as raindrops. Under the lingering glow of the setting sun, the long dragon of cavalry followed the official road, surging toward Fierce Tiger Bridge, a li or so away.